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More About Lamprey

I wrote a blog post a good while ago about the love of lamprey in mediaeval times and ever since then I have wanted to try it. Well, in the summer of 2017, I finally got the chance.

We were visiting Bordeaux and had taken a river boat cruise on the Garonne river – the guide happened to mention that one of the fish caught in the river was lamprey and that it was a local delicacy so, after the boat docked, I asked her if she could tell me where I could get some. She said there was a restaurant called La Brasserie Bordelaise which served it, so we looked it up on the internet and checked the menu – it was quite an upmarket, expensive restaurant but, as it was our wedding anniversary, we decided to treat ourselves and booked a table.

The food generally was lovely and fully lived up to the rather expensive prices. The lamprey, cooked à la Bordelaise, was 32 euros! (If you don’t believe me, click here and scroll down – look for ‘Lamproie à la Bordelaise’ under the heading ‘Les Plats’). And when we looked at the wine booklet (I can’t really call it a wine list, it was that long!) we found a bottle of Château Petrus for a mere 2,500 euros! Needless to say, we decided not to buy that!

So, what did I get for my euros? Here are some pictures.

So, what did it taste like, you may ask? Well, to be honest, I can’t say I really know what lamprey taste like because all I could taste was the sauce it was cooked in, which was some kind of beef stock, onions and red wine. The nearest thing in taste I could compare it to is tinned oxtail soup! Yes, I paid 32 euros for something that tasted like a tin of soup! Anyway, at least I can say I’ve eaten it! And then I had this for dessert (yum!):

Ew. Sorry, but it looks horrible to me. By trying it, I think you showed courage above and beyond the call of duty. I’d have settled for the tin of Heinz. But thanks for the post. Very interesting, if, to me, totally indigestible! Yes, yes, I’m very common and pathetic when it comes to food. I think fish and chips is a gastronomic delight second to none!

Similar to the eels that were regularly served when I was a little girl without the posh sauce. I remember going to the market with my mum, the eels were still alive in tubs,one would be pulled out and then would then be chopped up in front of us by the stall holder and the pieces still wriggling as they were wrapped up. Yikes! .

My Dad caught an eel once. He had my poor sister carry it all the way to the car. I just remember the head left in the waste bin in the caravan.
I don’t like the taste of fish, and I also grew up with a fear of dead and rubber snakes (I love live snakes and will approach one with caring if I see one in the wild – but will run and scream like a girl if I realise it is actually dead), so eating anything that would look like that would be a no. In fact I don’t think I could even look at it.

I am not a squeamish eater, I have eaten Ostrich, just nothing that is reptile or amphibian looking, and nothing that tastes like fish …or mushy peas…